Shepherdess at Vallangoujard (Seine-et-Oise)

When Canadians left Paris, they took up the plein air (outdoor) painting practised by the Barbizon and Impressionist artists. Suzor-Coté painted Shepherdess at Vallangoujard (Seine-et-Oise) in 1898. It combines the two paths he had been following since arriving in the French capital: the academic training of the studio and landscape studies from nature. Exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français that year and at the Art Association’s Spring Exhibition in 1900, it attracted notice from newspaper critics and was purchased by the Canadian businessman Rodolphe Forget.